Haji o shinobi haji o modashite koto mo naku mono iwanu saki ni ware wa yorinamu

恥を忍び恥を黙して事もなく
物言はぬさきに我れは寄りなむ

Roma-ji: Haji o shinobi haji o modashite koto mo naku mono iwanu saki ni ware wa yorinamu
English Translation: Bearing my shame,
keeping silent in my shame,
as if nothing happened,
before a word is spoken,
I shall go and draw near you.
Meaning: Swallowing my shame and keeping silent in it, as though nothing had happened, before anyone says a word I shall go and draw near to you.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Poems with Tales of Origin and Miscellaneous Poems 3795

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Nine poems in reply by the maidens."
The maiden resolves to bear the shame of having mocked the old man and draw near to him before anyone can comment. Repeating the word "shame" twice shows both her embarrassment and her willingness to yield.
This is the set in which the nine maidens who had teased the Bamboo-Cutter answer his chōka and envoys one after another. From the second poem on, almost every one ends with "I too shall draw near," so that the maidens yield to the old man one by one.
The poet is one of the nine maidens the Bamboo-Cutter met; her name is not recorded. She is a figure of the tale, one of those the old man called immortals.

First line, "haji o shinobi," means "bearing my shame." It is hypermetric at six syllables and forms a parallel with "haji o modashite" in the second line.
Second line, "haji o modashite," means "keeping silent in my shame." Repeating haji o underlines her awkwardness.
Third line, "koto mo naku," means "as if nothing had happened," calmly and without fuss.
Fourth line, "mono iwanu saki ni," means "before anyone speaks." At eight syllables it is hypermetric, conveying her eagerness to act without hesitation.
Final line, "ware wa yorinamu," means "I shall draw near." Namu joins the perfective nu and the volitional mu to show firm resolve. The following poems take up this line as "ware mo yorinamu," forming the pattern of the set.
Source: Manyoshu
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